


i wake in the morning and i step outside

by ImagineYourself



Series: everybody needs a little special attention [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: But him friends love him, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Getting Together, Kissing, Lance (Voltron) Has Anxiety, Langst, Minor Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Multi, OT5, OTPaladins, Polydins, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 16:56:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10948785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImagineYourself/pseuds/ImagineYourself
Summary: Voltron was everything now. There were things Lance knew he just had to accept in life and do so with a smile.Each morning (or the relative space equivalent) he would stand in front of a mirror after little or no sleep, plaster a smile on his face, and wait for it to look real before venturing out to see the rest of the crew.It was what it was.





	i wake in the morning and i step outside

**Author's Note:**

> tbh I wanted an excuse to write Lance getting love and kisses from everyone because my boy deserves the best so this is completely self-indulgent and has little/no plot.
> 
> This fic can be assumed to take place in like late s2 or so-ish, idk, doesn't matter.
> 
> They/them pronouns for Pidge.

Voltron was everything now. It was in his head all the time, always on his mind. Not to mention that he lived with all the other paladins on a 24/7 basis so they were kind of always present. There were things Lance knew he just had to accept in life and do so with a smile.

So, he did.

Each morning (or the relative space equivalent) he would stand in front of a mirror after little or no sleep, plaster a smile on his face, and wait for it to look real before venturing out to see the rest of the crew.

It was what it was.

. . .

The ship's lights warmed up slowly, almost giving the illusion of sunrise. Lance was sitting on the floor in front of a window, staring out into the vastness of the void, filled only with the far-off light of a billion stars. He wouldn't have even noticed the time if not for the glare that started up across the clear panel, obscuring his view slightly.

Sighing, Lance shut his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. “Rise and shine,” he whispered to himself.

He stood slowly, stretching out his tired muscles and sore butt from sitting for too long. Making his way back towards his room, he scrubbed a hand over his face and through his hair several times.

Lance was looking forward to a shower, nice and hot, to wash the exhaustion away. He didn't know exactly how long he had been awake, only that—like every night—he had awakened gasping for breath after a few hours of sleep and was unable to rest again. Nightmares, anxiety about his team and their mission, it all kept him up. Sometimes even for days at a time.

Suddenly, he bumped into something and bounced a couple of steps back, disoriented. It took him a few moments to realize someone was saying his name.

“Hey, Lance? Lance?” A hand was waved in front of him and Lance managed to focus his eyes enough to see Hunk's face. “You okay, buddy?”

“Huh?” Lance blinked. “Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine. Sorry, I didn't see you.”

“Yeah, I'm easy to miss,” Hunk said, his tone flat. He looked Lance over from head to toe and pursed his lips. “You look terrible.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No, I—I mean, are you okay? You seem really out of it.”

Lance's vision was starting to blur on the edges but he could see Hunk's concern plain on his face. The other boy's hands were on Lance's arms, steadying him. Abruptly, Lance straightened. “I'm okay.” He gave a lopsided smile. “I was just, uh, training, so I'm a little tired.”

“Oh.” Hunk seemed to accept the excuse. “Well I was about to make breakfast, want some?”

Lance, in fact, did not want some, but he nodded anyway just to see Hunk's satisfied smile. “Yeah, okay. Just as long as it's not goop.” He ignored the tightness in his stomach in favor of trailing after his friend to the kitchens.

He wasn't hungry, hadn't been hungry in hours. But if it made Hunk happy to feed him, then Lance would absolutely acquiesce.

. . .

They were taking it easy for a change. Lance was lounging with Blue, cupped in her massive paws, as she hummed in what she probably thought was a gentle purr. If Lance was honest, the loud rumbling was actually quite soothing.

“If you're trying to put me to sleep I don't think it's working,” Lance mumbled, enjoying the rest but still feeling too awake.

Blue huffed and continued her purring, otherwise completely still so as to not jostle Lance even a little bit. Lance let out a deep breath, trying to relax. He did _want_ to sleep, he just was having trouble getting there. Too many things on his mind, too many worries and doubts.

Blue huffed again, as if trying to shush him.

“I didn't say anything!”

A loud clang interrupted them, Pidge announcing their presence by shouting, “Laaance!”

Against his lion's protests, Lance shifted around. “Yes, dear?” he called out. Pidge was standing with their arms crossed, a petulant expression on their face. “Aww, what's wrong?” Lance cooed.

“Our resident Galra is having a tantrum and nobody wants to deal with him so will you go talk him out of whatever got up his ass before he starts trying to break my computer again?”

“Again!” Lance groaned. “Why do I gotta be the one to deal with him when he's in a mood? Why can't Shiro do it?”

“Shiro is having a meeting with Allura and told me to tell you to deal with it.” Pidge clambered over Blue's paws to poke him in the side. “For the sake of everyone's sanity, will you please get your lazy butt up?”

Lance held his breath for all of two seconds before Pidge's grubby little hands started tickling him. “Ah! Stop, nooo!” he laughed, pushing them away. “Fine, fine! I'll do it.”

Pidge leaned back, a triumphant smirk on their face as they told him, “Good. I can keep Blue company if she wants while you're gone.”

From Blue herself, Lance got a buzz of annoyance. She deposited them on the floor and turned around. “I don't think she'd like that, actually.”

“You'll get your precious boy back soon, I promise!” Pidge said, laying their hand on the lion's flank.

Lance got to his feet and stretched his hands up. “Alright, where's wonderboy?”

“He said he was going to the training deck when I last saw him.”

Letting out a brief sigh, Lance ruffled Pidge's hair—resulting in a glare for his trouble—and started making his way across the castle to the training deck. Blue's hum was a soothing balm, still in the back of his head as he went.

The training deck was quiet as Lance arrived and the doors slid open to reveal that the room was empty. Well, almost.

Upon a closer look, Lance saw a black mop of hair on the floor, the rest of Keith's body hidden by an unmoving bot. Carefully, Lance drew nearer. “Keith? You're not dead, are you?” he called.

After a moment, he heard a muffled, “I'm not dead.”

“Oh, thank god. I probably would have, like, barfed or something if you were.” Lance let out a soft laugh but there was no response. He moved closer, a little distressed by this version of Keith. “Why are you on the floor?”

“I'm tired.”

Finally, Lance was in a position where he could see Keith's face, noticing that his teammate's eyes were closed and his face was pinched with tension. Taking a seat on the floor nearby, Lance looked him over. “Pidge said you were going to break their computer.”

“I was not!” One eye opened just enough to glare and Lance grinned.

“But did you threaten to?”

“. . . maybe.”

“They said you were throwing a tantrum. Guess you tired yourself out, huh? Is it time to take a nappy poo now?”

Both of Keith's eyes were now open and glaring, full (half) Galra force. “I will fight you.”

“I don't doubt it.” Lance was still grinning.

Eventually, Keith sighed and rolled over. “Just go away.”

“Not until you tell me what's wrong.” This was truly worrisome. Lance was trying to play it off but he was concerned.

“Why can't you ever just shut up?”

“Because I'm a loudmouthed kid who likes to push people's buttons and I use humor to cover up my insecurities and hide how I really feel.” He shrugged to himself and his inner thoughts, wishing he could actually say something like that.

Keith was silent, though he turned partway back to stare at Lance.

“Did I say that out loud?” Lance whispered, mortified. His face flushed bright red.

“You have insecurities?” Keith asked, sounding almost accusing.

“Yep, okay. That's my cue to leave. Conversation over, I hope you feel better after a nap.” Lance got up, hurrying away. He saw Keith twist and push himself into a crouch.

“Wait! Shit, I didn't mean it like that!”

“Let's pretend we never had this conversation,” Lance said over his shoulder. He was out the door in seconds and practically running down the hall. He could hear Keith coming after him until he turned a corner and ducked into a little alcove. Resting his hands on his knees, he tried to catch his breath, tried to keep the panic at bay.

“Ay Dios, what have I done?” Lance muttered.

When the coast was clear, he retreated towards his room, eyes glancing nervously around as he went. He, thankfully, did not see any signs of Keith.

But, just as he was passing by Shiro's room, the black paladin himself came out and nearly bumped into Lance. He caught Lance's shoulders and steadied them both, smiling. “Lance. Did you talk to Keith?”

Like a deer in headlights, Lance blanked out for a long moment, the shock of nearly being bowled over a little too much for his already panicky brain.

“Lance?”

“Uh, huh. I did,” Lance told him slowly, getting his bearings back. “I'm just gonna go . . . _not_ for a while.” He pointed in the direction of his room.

Shiro let him go, frowning with concern. “Are you alright? You seem out of it.”

“Peachy!” Lance said, trying for a smile. He must not have succeeded because Shiro still looked at him with worried dark eyes. Quickly and without another word, he stepped away and made it to his room in just a couple of long strides. The door slid closed behind him and he leaned his forehead against it, counting his breaths.

In 1, 2, 3. Hold. Out 1, 2, 3, 4. Repeat.

He sat on his bed. A soft knock on the door was unexpected, but he didn't answer. He just kept counting.

Lance didn't leave his room again until well after the lights around the ship had dimmed for their sleep cycle. Then he went to his favorite window, sat on the floor, and he watched the stars.

. . .

They were planetside, somewhere they had been before but Lance couldn't remember the name. The lions were out, the team practicing formations which used gravity as their tool, a weapon against enemies. Shiro kept giving orders, Lance kept missing them, and the formations kept falling apart on Lance and Pidge's end.

“This clearly isn't working right now,” Shiro said over the comms, “and we need to practice it more. But let's form Voltron and change things up a bit.”

“Sounds good to me,” Hunk said.

Everyone was disillusioned at this point about getting anything done, but the transformation into their giant robot form was always exciting, ever since the first time. Each lion found its place and locked together with Shiro until they were one whole.

Voltron was everything now. Unbeatable, fantastical, nearly invincible with five minds working together to create the one true defender of—

Blue started roaring as she fell out of alignment, the locks holding her in place coming undone. Before anyone could help or even shout more than a distant “Lance!” Blue was crashing to the ground. The rest of Voltron toppled after.

“Is everyone alright?” Lance heard Shiro's voice from where his head had fallen against the control panel.

Then Keith's, “What the hell happened?”

“Ugh, vertigo,” Hunk mumbled.

Pidge just grumbled something about faulty machinery.

“Lance? What's going on?” That was Allura.

“M'fine,” Lance tried to say.

“Obviously you're not,” Keith told him, a bit too harsh for Lance's tired head.

He hadn't slept for maybe two nights at this point. He was losing track of time and how many hours of sleep he had gotten the last time he managed to close his eyes for more than a few minutes at a time.

“Lance, what's wrong?” Shiro asked.

“Nothin'. I said I'm fine. Just gimme a minute.”

Suddenly everyone was talking at once and Lance tried to reach up to turn them off, or at least take his helmet off. He thought he managed it when he heard a _thunk_ beside him and the voices all stopped.

It turned out that was not the case when a hand came down on his shoulder and shook him. Lance glanced up through the burning feeling in his eyes and saw Keith's stupid face looking angry. He deduced somewhere in his brain that Keith must have taken the helmet off for him.

“What is wrong with you?” the red paladin asked, pulling at him so Lance was sitting upright in his seat again. Mostly upright, at least.

“M'just tired.”

“When was the last time you slept?”

Lance tried to shrug. “Dunno. A few days ago.”

Keith made a noise like a growl. Or maybe that was Blue, Lance couldn't tell. He had promptly gone limp now that he was no longer forcing himself to train with the others. Forming Voltron was a lot more tiring than it ever had been before. A set of hands straightened him before arms circled his body and lifted him to lay across a set of shoulders.

“God, you weigh nothing,” Keith muttered.

Lance giggled. Then he giggled some more. He didn't know why it was so funny for Keith to comment on his weight but it was the funniest thing he'd heard in ages.

When the giggles subsided, Lance thought he might have heard Keith say something like, “You're hopeless.”

“Hey, Keith?” Lance started seriously, his head bouncing a little as Keith clambered down from Blue.

“What?”

“I should punch you.”

“I'd punch you if I wasn't carrying you back to the castle. Honestly . . .” he trailed off.

Lance shook his head. “No, no, no. Like. I'd punch you on your mouth but with my mouth.”

“Are you . . . trying to say you want to kiss me?” Keith asked slowly.

“Yeah, that's the one. And Hunk. I'd kiss Pidge, too. You guys are my best friends.” Nobody said anything so Lance continued, “Even though you treat me like shit sometimes . . . I worry about you guys. I can't sleep sometimes, 'cause I'm worried.”

Lance felt a lot more lucid than he had when Keith first picked him up. He just couldn't make himself shut up. He didn't want to stop talking. Talking made things real.

“I know I'm not good enough for the team. You guys are so great and I'm—I'm not.” Lance's breath hitched and he opened his eyes just enough to watch his own tears falling, leaving a trail behind them. Like breadcrumbs. Maybe they could find their way back to the place before Lance started talking..

“At least Blue likes me. She's tried to help but it doesn't work.” Lance hiccuped. “Nothing works,” he said miserably. He was crying now in earnest and Keith wasn't saying anything. He wished Keith would just say something. Anything.

After a while, Lance quieted, just sniffling every so often. He noticed in a couple of blinks that they were inside the castle though he couldn't for the life of him remember how they got there. The bounce of Keith's step was the only thing keeping him awake at that point, beside the burning realisation that he had spilled his guts and now wanted to literally spill his guts. Or at least his stomach contents, meager as they were.

When Lance was set down, it was on something soft and big. Hands took off the stiff pieces of his armor and hushed voices floated around him. It sounded like Allura and Keith, maybe Coran, too.

Freed of the restrictive suit, Lance curled up on his side. After a few moments, two bodies laid down beside him, one placing an arm around his middle and the other reaching up to gently comb fingers through his hair. It reminded him of when he used to sleep with his sisters when he was younger. He thought he might have started crying again, but he wasn't sure.

Someone's soft voice told him to go to sleep. So, he did.

. . .

Nothing and everything felt right all at once when Lance woke.

His face was cold but there was something warm behind him so he grumbled and turned over to bury his face into what was actually a lot less giving than what he had assumed to be a pillow. There was shuffling on his other side and an arm was hooked around his waist, tugging him back.

Huh.

Slowly, trying not to disturb anyone else, Lance opened his eyes and lifted his head to look around. In front of him now was Keith, snoring softly, and behind was Hunk, who the arm belonged to. Lance couldn't move his legs and when he glanced down he saw Pidge lying across him with Shiro at their back, holding onto them. Along the top of the bed was Allura, one of her hands resting on Keith's head. Loud snoring was coming from the floor and Lance could just see one of what he assumed to be Coran's feet up on the bed. The rest of the Altean was on the floor.

Lance took a deep breath in, let it out, and relaxed. He burrowed up to Keith's side, curled so Hunk could keep his arm around him. 

He fell back asleep in record time.

. . .

Lance woke again to soft whisperings. He blinked a few times and yawned. At one side still lay Keith, on his back with Shiro propped up on an elbow almost on top of him. They stopped whispering when they noticed Lance and both smiled.

“Hey,” Shiro greeted.

Looking to his other side, Lance found Pidge shoved up against his back, their hair in disarray with Hunk hanging half off the bed and breathing loudly. Coran was gone, presumably since the snoring had quieted, and Allura, too.

“Hi,” Lance finally replied, settling in.

“How are you feeling?” Shiro asked.

Lance noticed absently that Keith had a hand in Shiro's short hair, making the black paladin look relaxed and happy. If he were a cat, Lance had no doubt he'd be purring. “Good, actually. Awake.”

Keith scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I would hope. You've been asleep more than half the day.”

“Don't be mean,” Shiro admonished. “He deserved it.”

Lance's brows drew together. He was starting to remember what happened before he finally passed out. “I can't believe you carried me to the castle,” he muttered, meeting Keith's eyes for just a moment.

“He insisted,” Shiro told him, a proudness in his eyes that Lance didn't get.

“Why?”

“Because, idiot, I wasn't just gonna let you black out in your lion,” Keith said, looking at the ceiling like he had a grudge against it.

“Yeah but you didn't have to carry me. You could have made Hunk do it.”

“Well, I—” Keith looked away even harder, if it were possible. A pink tinge came to his cheeks.

“Keith?” Shiro whispered. “We talked about this.”

“Talked about what?” Lance asked, more confused by the tick. What were they on about?

“Did you mean it?” Keith abruptly questioned, looking again at Lance.

“Mean what?”

“What you said earlier . . . about wanting to—to kiss me?”

“Oh.” Lance had almost forgotten he had even said anything of the sort. It all came rushing back and he felt his face flush. In an attempt to hide, he smushed his nose into the bed and groaned quietly. “What happens if I say yes?” he mumbled into the covers.

“Who's sayin’ yes?” Pidge grumbled into his ear. They stretched out a little and then climbed literally on top of Lance, pinning him down. “Yes t' what?” they slurred.

“If he wants to kiss Keith,” Shiro answered.

“He totally does. And me, too, right Lance?”

Lance's response was a loud groan. “Why are you all ganging up on me like this?”

“Just answer the question,” Keith growled.

“Feisty,” Pidge giggled.

“Fine, ugh, yes. I meant it. I mean it.” Lance sighed in defeat and sunk further into the bed.

“I told you so,” Pidge said with triumph.

Keith harrumphed. “Sure.”

“Hey, Lance. Who do you wanna kiss first?”

“Piiidge! I can't decide that,” Lance complained, his voice reedy. “It depends on who actually wants to kiss _me_.”

“Lance, look at me.” Shiro's voice was soft but still coaxed Lance to raise his head to meet his gaze. “Trust me when I say we all want to kiss you.”

“Wait, what? All of you?”

“You're very slow on the uptake,” Pidge told him.

“Yeah well you're just . . . ah, shut up.” Lance dropped his head again.

“Pidge, move,” Keith ordered. “Fuckin' c'mere.”

A hand grabbed Lance's jaw, a little too hard for comfort, and he squawked. He opened his eyes only to close them again as Keith's face came dangerously close. Suddenly there was a set of lips pressed hard against his own and Pidge's voice was cooing something sweet (or not, Lance couldn't tell).

When they separated, Lance's eyes shot open and found a smirk on Keith's face. “You're an asshole,” Lance muttered.

“You're the one who said 'punch your mouth with my mouth'.”

“Fine, fine.” Lance jerked his chin out of Keith's hand only to be assaulted by Pidge's hands grasping his hair and their soft lips taking a kiss almost as forcefully as Keith had. Pidge had no give where Lance had thought that Keith might have at least a little. Still, it wasn't unpleasant, not by a longshot.

“Wow,” Lance breathed when Pidge backed off, looking satisfied.

“Okay, Shiro, it's your turn,” they said, taking back their small hands.

“What am I, a lazy Susan?”

Pidge looked contemplative. “Actually—”

“Let's not reduce our teammate to something to be thrown around, alright?” Shiro interrupted. He looked to Lance and there was an almost shyness about him. “Lance, would you like me to kiss you?”

Pretending to think about it was completely out of the question at this point and Lance resoundingly told him, “Yes.”

Everyone chuckled—except Hunk who just snored—and Shiro moved further across Keith's body to plant a gentle kiss onto Lance's waiting lips. It was much different than the other two, not just in terms of gentleness, but because it was Shiro and of course Shiro was different.

When he started to retreat, Lance made a noise of complaint and received another kiss for the sound. Finally, Lance was allowed to rest his head back onto the bed and shut his eyes, feeling happy. Feeling good.

“I'm not dreaming, right? This isn't just some fever dream because I was awake for too long? I mean, it might—ow!” Lance jumped and glared at Pidge, who had just pinched him in the side.

“What? I'm proving a point!” Pidge explained.

Hunk snorted loudly, interrupting anything Lance might have replied. “Huh? Wha-?” He turned towards them, eyeing the group. “Did I miss something?”

Pidge finally moved off of Lance and pushed him towards Hunk. “Here you go, big guy. Everyone else got their kiss so now it's your turn.”

“Kiss?” Hunk looked confused.

“Oh for the love of—”

A hand was pushing into Lance's back and then he was kissing Hunk, each of them looking as surprised as the other. But when Lance broke the kiss, Hunk reached up and cupped the back of his head, smiling before kissing him again. And again. And another time after that.

Lance was smiling too widely when Hunk let him go but he buried the expression in Hunk's chest. “That was nice,” he said softly.

“So, this means Lance is officially a part of _this_ now, right?” Pidge asked, prompting Lance to turn over.

“Wait, this was already a thing?” Lance asked.

“Well, not really. We’ve all cuddled before, even with you. That was the first time any of us kissed. I think.” Pidge looked at Shiro and Keith who were suddenly very suspiciously not making eye contact. “Did you . . ?”

“We may have . . .” Shiro started.

“I can't believe you didn't tell me, Keith!” Pidge exclaimed, smacking him in the shoulder.

“Ow! Sorry, jeez.”

“I feel like I'm the only one not surprised about this,” Hunk said. He shrugged then reached over Lance to grab at Pidge. They fell against Lance's chest and the others followed after, creating a nice chain of spooning.

“If we all start sleeping together like this, I might actually be able to sleep more,” Lance told them all.

“That was kind of the idea,” Keith said.

“Wow, for once you had a good idea. I'm proud.”

“Actually, it was my idea.”

“You don't have to take the credit, Pidge, you've already got everyone wrapped around your little finger.”

“Oh, I know.”

“Of course you do.”

Lance smiled, feeling rested for the first time in he couldn’t remember how long. This was what they were supposed to be, it just felt right.

Voltron was everything now.


End file.
